


The Heaven Flower

by SilverFoxtail



Category: Greek Mythology, Original Work
Genre: Other Gods Mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23198662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverFoxtail/pseuds/SilverFoxtail
Summary: Persephone has died after eating a cursed pomegranate. The world is now frozen over without her guidance. Who can save her now?





	The Heaven Flower

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story originally last year. I edited some things to make sense and here we are now.

Today should have been the Vernal equinox. The humans should have been celebrating. Instead, they huddled in their homes, turning into statues as the winter passed over them. For them, there would surely be no flowers to smell. No grapes to pick for wine and no animals to hunt for food. They will surely die.

During all of this, Demeter was mourning for the earth. Her beloved daughter, Persephone had perished. In her hands, instead of a bubbly, happy Spring Goddess that prances around, picking at her field of flowers, there was a skeleton, with the only remnants of life being dust and torn clothing, slowly drifting away.

The last of the plants and animals were used in her funeral. Ares, Hermes and Apollo, who have courted with the dear Persephone, were obliged to visit her grave. The only question on their minds were,‘why?’ Nothing more. The Olympians were ordered by Zeus to attend as well. The only words out of the Olympians were none, but replaced by a glare towards Hades, who had tricked Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds. “This I had nothing to do with.” he began. He was soon interrupted. “Of course you killed her!” cried Demeter. “Who else has authority over the dead but you? And what about after you refused to give her back this year?” 

“She didn’t want to come back.”  
“After you manipulated her!”  
“She’s a young goddess. Forgive her.”  
“I’ll forgive her once you bring her back.”  
“That, I have no dominion over.”

Demeter stood there puzzled. Surely the god of the underworld would have some authority over the dead. 

“I can only control the mortals and gods who have died previously. I am incapable of killing a living creature. I leave that role to Thanatos, who is death itself.” Hades continued before Demeter could have hope. “However, I am sure if you asked him to bring Persephone back, it would be futile for he can only kill. He has no authority over life, only death.”

Demeter and the others looked glum and hopeless. If the earth freezes over, there would be no fixing it without Persephone. Suddenly, Zeus restored hope with this notion. “If Gaia created life, she would surely bring back our beloved Persephone.” 

But then, a doubt rose once more. The last being to talk to Gaia was the dragon, Typhon, her last son. Certainly no dragon would be a god. Only direct sons of Gaia can enter her realm. Zeus’ quip may have just saved the world. “Heh-heh… What if a mortal went up there? Wouldn’t that be hysterical?” “No.” said Hades. “But it would be helpful.” 

“What do you mean”  
“All mortals are derived from the Titan Prometheus’ hard work. With that logic, a mortal could deliver the message.”

“What a splendid idea, Hades!” cheered Demeter. “With this, we can restore the earth.” Hades rolled his eyes as he remembered being accused of murder. “I shall send a hero, superior to Hercules or Achilles, to send the message.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the now tundra village of Prasinosa, a child that was barely an adolescent stumbled out of the freezing woodland. The blizzard was intense and blowing the black hair on his head in his face. His once tanned skin was now such an icy pale that he blended in with the snow around him. Looking for his family who got lost in the snow, he cried, “Mitera! Pateras! It’s me, Plousios…” He ran out of energy and collapsed. With the last bit of effort, he curled up into a ball, waiting to die. 

Within his eyesight of what life he had left in him, a shadow of a dog-like figure approached Plousios with a slow, struggling gait. The dog began to inspect him. Still alive. Good. Gently, the dog lifted the child up by his tunic and dragged him across the snow.  
Plousios woke up in a crimson room on a rotting haystack. Various weapons were on the floor in an unorganized pattern. There was a statue and murals around him of what he can only assume are Hades himself with Cerberus and a luminous, out of place bident that looked separate from the tall statue that clutched it. He knew where he was at that point. Panicking, he tries to find a way out. There were no windows and a single small trap door beneath the statue’s feet. The door was tightly bonded with the floor around it. There was no possibility of Plousios opening the door with his hands. He had to pry it open. He remembered the bident and how shiny it was compared to the statue. But how to get it off? 

In a fit of resourcefulness, Plousios grabbed a blunted dagger from the pile of weapons and chiseled away the hand that was carrying the bident. It took only five strong hits from the dagger before the hand broke off into many pieces. He quickly caught the double headed spear and pried the trapdoor open. 

In the trap door was a dirt tunnel with torches on the right wall, completely dark on the other side. Plousios squinted into the hole in the ground and saw a flicker of light surrounded by darkness. Entranced, he decided to go after it. The trapdoor, being small, about the width of his shoulders, reduced him to a crawl through the tunnel. Gradually, the height of the tunnel increased to allow him to waddle. As he go further in the tunnel, it appeared to get longer and darker. The flames on the torches were fading to a flicker.

Blinded by the increasing darkness, Plousios began to stumble to the left, feeling like he was being dragged by the arm away from the light by something with teeth. The ceiling and left wall didn’t exist at this point. The only light emanating was behind him. It was a chilling blue and indigo. Plousios then began to hear a faint hissing from the direction the light was coming from. He turned around and saw what scared the daylights out of him. Cerberus, the guard of the dead, preventing them from leaving, devouring anyone who attempts. It turns out that the thing that was dragging him was his serpentine tail. Before he could question anything, he was thrown into a blinding light. He wailed for help.

For what seemed like hours, Plousios kept falling in the whiteness. He could clearly see the bite marks on his arm. His arm was pulsating and dripping blood. Two signs of being alive. Now he had the apparent time to ponder as to what was going on. From what he could gather, he wasn’t dead. Then why would he be in the underworld? 

A realization.

‘Because I’m being used.’

Suddenly, he was dragged upwards rapidly and saw the daylight once more. Below him, he could barely see the impressions he made in the snow. He began to fall again.

For the first time in a while, he landed on something solid. Dizzy from the fall, he could make out a golden fountain with what appeared to be three nymphs inside. In a stupor, Plousios stumbled towards the fountain and asked the Nymphs, “Do you know where we are?”

The nymphs giggled and one of them said. “Are you daft? This is Mount Olympus. Home of the gods. They’re letting us play here. Wanna join?” Shocked, Plousios ran forward where he saw stairs leading to a common area. “Hey! Come back!” another nymph cried. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back” said the first nymph. The third one simply echoed everything previously said. 

In the monument were all the gods on their thrones. Zeus, being in the middle. Plousios felt small because he was the size of a mouse compared to the gods. Zeus began. A skeleton lied in front of him.

“Welcome to Mt.Olympus, Mortal. Hades was looking for you.”

Hades stood up from his throne with a human sized box in his hand. He calmly set the box down at Plousios’ feet. “I left you in my home to get this for you, by the time I got back, you were at the cleansing fountain.” Hades laughed. “I would expect no less from my chosen one.”

Plousios looked shocked and quickly filled with despair. 

“ I merely blessed you. The reason Plousios is your name is because you are of me. Your father is merely stepping in for me. But do not fret, child. Your family is alive and well at home.”  
“Why am I here? Why didn’t Cerberus eat me? What is the use in being here?”  
“Because only a mortal like you can save Earth. Here, take this.”

Plousios received a strange, blue daffodil. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“This particular type of daffodil is known as a heaven flower. Trek through the higher realm and lend this to Gaia as a peace offering. She will restore Persephone and everything will take its course.”

“Where’s Persephone now?”

“She is the skeleton in front of you.”

Plousios flinched.

Hades opened the box to reveal the contents inside. Golden armor and a sword.  
“Now, my prodigy. Don this armour and sword, mount Pegasus of Poseidon and fly to the world beyond.”  
On his cue, Pegasus swooped in.  
Without a word, Plousios accepted the quest.

Now a warrior, Plousios and Pegasus zoomed through the heavens. With their teamwork, they slashed all of the monsters in their wake. Monster blood splattered in Pegasus’ eyes and the steed knocked off it’s rider. 

The area had no gravity, as a result, He floated in place. A white light enveloped him and a thunderous voice spoke. “I am Mother Earth.” it began. “Whatever does a live mortal need to speak to me about?”  
“I am Plousios! Prodigy and the chosen one of Hades of the Underworld. I am here to give you a heaven flower, oh great one.”  
Plousios handed the flower to the light and the light dissolved it.  
Mother Earth gasped.  
“Perhaps I punished her too harshly.”  
Plousios looked frightened at the power.  
“Ah yes. By ordering Thanatos to destroy her, I have destroyed the land I have put tireless efforts into creating. I shall undo what I have done if you do one last thing for me.”  
“What should I do?”  
“Make sure nobody, not even a god harms the earth again.”

And so, Plousios was sent to the cleansing fountain. With her and Plousios’ power,Persephone was restored by Gaia and placed on the earth to reverse the freezing process. Demeter began the Vernal Equinox and humanity was saved. All thanks to Plousios.


End file.
